Welcome to the Consumerist Archives

Thanks for visiting Consumerist.com. As of October 2017, Consumerist is no longer producing new content, but feel free to browse through our archives. Here you can find 12 years worth of articles on everything from how to avoid dodgy scams to writing an effective complaint letter. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.org for ratings, reviews, and consumer news.

shirts

After a jcpenney sweatshirt that said, “I’m too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me,” caused an uproar among bloggers, the retailer has removed the garment from their website and issued an apology. [More]

Boston’s mayor has asked Nike to stop its use of questionable phrases on a line of new t-shirts. The phrases “get high,” “dope” and “ride pipe” all have double meanings pertaining to drugs, the mayor complains. An anti-drug group sent a similarly themed letter to several members of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. [More]

There is a tiny chance that this “Your Single Tunic” from Wet Seal totally intends its misuse of the word “your” as some sort of ironic wink meant to mock the plight of dating in the grammar-destructive text message age. But yeah, odds are this shirt did not display the message it intended. [More]

Everyone has that one shirt: a shirt so wonderful, you would happily buy a dozen more like it. Maybe–just maybe–a world like that will be possible someday soon, thanks to the Shirt Fit Finder. This site compares the sizing of different brands of shirts, and finding something similar for you to buy. The bad news? Their selection of brands and sizes is terribly limited. The worse news? It only works for men’s shirts. Ah, well. Someday. [More]

The phrase “unconditional guarantee” gives the impression that a product has a guarantee, and that it’s unconditional. B. writes that at Brooks Brothers, “unconditional” seems to mean “as long as you don’t wash or wear articles of clothing.” Is he out of line to expect the company to stand behind frequently worn and laundered items like dress shirts? Or is Brooks Brothers’ use of the word “unconditional” in this situation misleading? [More]

Someone at the post office poached the Villainous Victorian Velociraptor Matt had ordered from Shirt.Woot. Woot sent Matt a new Velociraptor shirt and he figured that was that. Not so! He recently received a remarkably detailed letter from the post office’s Inspector General, complete with an added surprise. [More]

Kyle just wrote to us that the 36″ sleeve on a Large Tall sweatshirt from JCPenney has been reduced to 35″. It’s not just a manufacturing accident, because the new length is printed in the retailer’s sizing charts. But Kyle says for years he’s had no problem with JCPenney shirts, and that this all started happening within the past year or so. [More]

Matthew isn’t sure who got his order from Threadless.com, but it wasn’t him. UPS claims they delivered the package to Matthew’s apartment, but the reception desk would’ve been closed during the supposed delivery time, and Matthew doesn’t have his package. Rather than wait for UPS to complete its investigation, Threadless dug up an extra print of their sold-out design and sent it to Matthew, along with a little something extra…

I ordered an awesome shirt from Shirt.Woot! How awesome? Awesome enough for the U.S. Post Office to tear it right out of the super-durable SmartPost package Woot uses to protect their shirts. The Post Office, bastion of empathy that it is, didn’t want me to miss my order completely, so they delivered my ripped empty package wrapped in an obnoxious “WE CARE” apology bag. Heartbroken, I tried emailing Woot for help…

Josh tried to buy his girlfriend a “Go Big or Go Gnome” shirt from Glarkware.com, but they sold out before they could ship the shirt. Leah from Glarkware emailed Josh and offered to either issue a refund, or send a different shirt. Josh picked out a different shirt, but come on, what could replace a “Go Big or Go Gnome” shirt? Right, nothing.